Cochrane, a global independent network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers and people interested in health will be holding the 25th annual Cochrane Colloquium at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in Scotland from 16th to 18th September 2018. It will be hosted by Cochrane UK.

The theme of the Colloquium will be:

‘Cochrane for all – better evidence for better health decisions’

This will be a Colloquium for everyone. It will welcome newcomers to Cochrane from all parts of the world and from all backgrounds. One of the key aims is to increase the involvement of patients, carers and family members (healthcare consumers) in our work. As such, the Colloquium 2018 will be a Patients Included event that is co-designed, co-produced and co-presented by healthcare consumers and where everyone’s input is valued equally.

The Colloquium 2018 will focus on the key goals of Cochrane’s Strategy to 2020, looking through the eyes of healthcare consumers and in partnership with them:

Producing evidence

Making evidence accessible

Advocating for evidence

Effective and sustainable organization

Martin Burton, Director of Cochrane UK, said: “We have been asked why our focus is on patients, when Cochrane has so many different stakeholders, and we know that all stakeholders ultimately share the same goal – better health for patients. We believe we can best achieve this by working together as equal partners.

We want to make this an inclusive, inspiring and accessible event. We also want to build on our existing work involving and engaging with consumers, to take this engagement to a new level after the event is over”.

For more on the rationale behind making the 2018 Colloquium a ‘Patients Included’ event, you can read a blog here co-authored by Cochrane Consumer Co-ordinator Richard Morley, and Cochrane UK's Director Martin Burton and Sarah Chapman. At the bottom of the blog there is a survey inviting suggestions for making the Colloquium a ‘Patients Included’ event.

More detail on dates, registration, and the scientific programme will be announced in the coming months.

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